Despite fears of political mudslinging as the General Election approaches, the constituency of Warwick North East may be home to one of the cleanest election campaigns yet.

The ruling Progressive Labour Party's Dale Butler has held the seat since entering politics in 1998 under the old dual seat election system.

In 2003, Mr. Butler defeated the United Bermuda Party's Mark Pettingill by just 38 votes during the last election. This time, UBP Senator Gina Spence-Farmer, a youth activist, is the challenger for the seat.

Both candidates have avoided saying anything that contains an ounce of negativity about their opponent and have opted to run on the issues instead.

If elected to the Warwick North East seat, Mrs. Spence-Farmer has vowed to place an emphasis on youth development and crime, as well as fighting drug addiction problems.

Meanwhile, Mr. Butler has touted his accomplishments in the constituency and his contributions as a Minister, two things he believes will help him retain the seat.

However, Mrs. Spence-Farmer's attempts to unseat Mr. Butler won't be easy. Even UBP constituents concede he represents the area well and has maintained a strong presence in the community.

Residents in the Marl Lane and Spring Hill neighbourhood made no secret of their support for the PLP and Mr. Butler when The Royal Gazette accompanied the MP as he canvassed.

While Mr. Butler was canvassing homes, it was hard not to notice residents shouting out, "Solid as a rock!" while blowing their horns as they drove by their MP.

Area resident Jennifer Stovell, 53, did not wish to entertain any questions on who will get her vote. "Butler is the man for Warwick, I'm just staying positive for Mr. Butler," she declared.

Marl Lane residents Dronda Butterfield and daughter Natosha Butterfield described themselves as "rock solid" PLP supporters and cited crime in the area as their main concerns.

"Basically, I've been brought up in the PLP and we are comfortable with the PLP's performance," Mrs. Butterfield stated.

Janette Smith, who also lives in the area reiterated why voters might not be willing to toe party lines: "A lot of people's thoughts are being swayed all sorts of ways. They're actually saying that 'we prefer the integrity of the character of the person' and if they can believe in you, or whatever your promises are, that will be the deciding factor for people."

Ms Smith declined to state who she planned to vote for and when asked if she was pleased with the direction the country was heading in, she added: "Actually, we're being pulled in several directions. One or two I might be pleased with, a lot I'm not."

She also complimented both candidates.

"Gina just needs to keep on doing what she's doing and keep on being who she is," Ms Smith said. "Gina is a hard worker and I hope people would vote based on her integrity and that's it. Gina has been out canvassing every week religiously; sometimes I wonder how she can keep up.

"I also speak well on Dale's behalf, he has been out there and working very hard so, it's going to be close."

"Crime is number one," Lynanne Bolton, 55, told The Royal Gazette when asked about issues important to her this election.

She has lived in Warwick North East since 1978 and made no secret that she supports the UBP.

"Housing is number two as well as traffic — not many people mention it. For us in the West End, traffic issues are important because it impacts the time we are able to spend with our children."

Mrs. Spence-Farmer has pledged if she's elected, she will continue to push for a fully staffed Police station in Warwick, something that Ms Bolton welcomes.

"I remember the day when we had Parish Constables," Ms. Bolton said.

"We knew them and they just were always around and if you had a problem you could call them.

"That's something I would like to see; I think that a proper Police station would be great but I would like to see that go along with Parish Constables."

Speaking to the work ethic of Mr. Butler and the PLP in general, she reflected: "Mr. Butler's been diligent in keeping us abreast of our activities.

"I don't know particularly how much he's actually done or able to do, but he's been very good in keeping people up-to-date on what he has done.

"It's fair to say he has always encouraged everyone, whether UBP or PLP, to approach him with issues they might have."

Ms Bolton has firmly decided on her candidate of choice, however.

"Gina Spence-Farmer is the best candidate we've ever had, she has everything, she has the whole package, she's a woman of the people and she has a feel for national issues," she said.

Ms. Bolton also took issue with PLP pundits who say that this election will be about the party and not about the performance of the Premier.

She contended: "This particular Premier has always acted as though it's always about him. He's very charismatic but I think that his message is not deep enough.

"At the moment he's campaigning very negatively, possibly because his back is against the wall and he thinks that's the only way to win the election. I would like to believe that Bermudians, black and white, can look past that and think about what's best for the Island — without scare tactics and rhetoric."